Article July 2, 1938 Issue

Your paper reports a recent sermon in which a bishop...

John M. Dean, Committee on Publication for the State of Tennessee,—Memphis

Commercial Appeal

Your paper reports a recent sermon in which a bishop contends for the reality of sin. The following sentence taken from the bishop's remarks fairly epitomizes his philosophy concerning the subject: "A religion of redemption from sin is clearly superfluous if there is no such thing as sin."

No doubt our friend would readily agree with the unvarying teaching of Scripture concerning creation—a teaching which is summed up in these words from John: "All things were made by him [God]; and without him was not any thing made that was made." If this is true, then we are driven to one of two conclusions; either God created sin, or sin has no real existence. Surely the first proposition is unthinkable, for a good and all-wise God could not if He would, and would not if He could, create a single element which would oppose His creation or place His children in constant jeopardy. That evil can proceed from good is a self-evident contradiction. The Christian Science teaching in this connection is well summarized in Mrs. Eddy's statement on page 525 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Sin, sickness, and death must be deemed as devoid of reality as they are of good, God." If God, good, is the supreme fact of the universe, then His opposite, evil, must be the supreme fallacy. Jesus characterized the devil (evil) as "a liar, and the father of it."

To search for the origin of evil would be as futile as to attempt to find the origin of ignorance. Both are mere negations, but neither is to be lightly dismissed. When ignorance is dispelled by knowledge, its nothingness is thereby exposed. When sin is dissipated by an understanding of the omnipotent goodness of God, its nothingness likewise becomes evident. This is not to say that both ignorance and sin do not appear intensely real to mortal sense, but it must be clear that their destructible, impermanent nature proves that they are no part of God's creation, which must stand forever. If evil were real, prayer would be unavailing.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Your paper reports a recent sermon in which a bishop...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access